Sunday, August 30, 2009

Let it be indelibly carved in your heart and mind, especially for the occasions when indwelling sin robs you of peace and joy, that "his steadfast love endures forever".

Psalm 136

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,for his steadfast love endures forever.2 Give thanks to the God of gods,for his steadfast love endures forever.3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,for his steadfast love endures forever;

4 to him who alone does great wonders,for his steadfast love endures forever;5 to him who by understanding made the heavens,for his steadfast love endures forever;6 to him who spread out the earth above the waters,for his steadfast love endures forever;7 to him who made the great lights,for his steadfast love endures forever;8 the sun to rule over the day,for his steadfast love endures forever;9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,for his steadfast love endures forever;

10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,for his steadfast love endures forever;11 and brought Israel out from among them,for his steadfast love endures forever;12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,for his steadfast love endures forever;13 to him who divided the Red Sea in two,for his steadfast love endures forever;14 and made Israel pass through the midst of it,for his steadfast love endures forever;15 but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,for his steadfast love endures forever;16 to him who led his people through the wilderness,for his steadfast love endures forever;

17 to him who struck down great kings,for his steadfast love endures forever;18 and killed mighty kings,for his steadfast love endures forever;19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,for his steadfast love endures forever;20 and Og, king of Bashan,for his steadfast love endures forever;21 and gave their land as a heritage,for his steadfast love endures forever;22 a heritage to Israel his servant,for his steadfast love endures forever.

23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate,for his steadfast love endures forever;24 and rescued us from our foes,for his steadfast love endures forever;25 he who gives food to all flesh,for his steadfast love endures forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,for his steadfast love endures forever.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

"Without the gospel everything is useless and vain; without the gospel we are not Christians; without the gospel all riches is poverty, all wisdom folly before God; strength is weakness, and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God. But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made children of God, brothers of Jesus Christ, fellow townsmen with the saints, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom the poor are made rich, the weak strong, the fools wise, the sinner justified, the desolate comforted, the doubting sure, and slaves free. It is the power of God for the salvation of all those who believe.

It follows that every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in this same Jesus Christ alone. For, he was sold, to buy us back; captive, to deliver us; condemned, to absolve us; he was made a curse for our blessing, sin offering for our righteousness; marred that we may be made fair; he died for our life; so that by him fury is made gentle, wrath appeased, darkness turned into light, fear reassured, despisal despised, debt canceled, labor lightened, sadness made merry, misfortune made fortunate, difficulty easy, disorder ordered, division united, ignominy ennobled, rebellion subjected, intimidation intimidated, ambush uncovered, assaults assailed, force forced back, combat combated, war warred against, vengeance avenged, torment tormented, damnation damned, the abyss sunk into the abyss, hell transfixed, death dead, mortality made immortal. In short, mercy has swallowed up all misery, and goodness all misfortune. For all these things which were to be the weapons of the devil in his battle against us, and the sting of death to pierce us, are turned for us into exercises which we can turn to our profit. If we are able to boast with the apostle, saying, O hell, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? it is because by the Spirit of Christ promised to the elect, we live no longer, but Christ lives in us; and we are by the same Spirit seated among those who are in heaven, so that for us the world is no more, even while our conversation [life] is in it; but we are content in all things, whether country, place, condition, clothing, meat, and all such things. And we are comforted in tribulation, joyful in sorrow, glorying under vituperation [verbal abuse], abounding in poverty, warmed in our nakedness, patient amongst evils, living in death. This is what we should in short seek in the whole of Scripture: truly to know Jesus Christ, and the infinite riches that are comprised in him and are offered to us by him from God the Father."

- John Calvin, Preface to Pierre Robert Olivétan’s French translation of the New Testament

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Psalm 63:1-8O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;my soul thirsts for you;my flesh faints for you,as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,beholding your power and glory.Because your steadfast love is better than life,my lips will praise you.So I will bless you as long as I live;in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,when I remember you upon my bed,and meditate on you in the watches of the night;for you have been my help,and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.My soul clings to you;your right hand upholds me.

This was the passage that I meditated upon this morning, and what I found therein it is now my pleasure to share with you. What I saw was that the soul that desires God desires Him truly and biblically when the nature of this desire is that of utter desperation and dependence. The soul is at the end of itself. It has nothing to live on. It is stranded in a desert wilderness devoid of any means of survival—and the only hope in sight is God.

Truly, this is the state of each and every human being. The unbeliever does not recognize this gnawing barrenness as the innate thirst of the human soul for God, but the believer is keenly aware and his whole being cries out. The passage makes mention of both the "soul" and the "flesh" craving for satisfaction in God. This is but the true nature of our need, for both the material and immaterial parts of man long for the wholeness that only the Creator can bestow upon the creature.

This desire for God is also so consuming and pervasive that life on this world is considered as of lesser worth than seeing, feeling, and tasting the love of God. It is that tangible. The pleasures of the love of God are so real to both body and soul that they are likened to the sheer joy and satisfaction of having feasted on exquisite food. Having once tasted of the goodness of God, the soul now finds everything in this world as mere roughage, even unpalatable, and longs for the time when everyday would be a day of perfect feasting on God and His delights.

Do you crave for God with all that is you (not just "in" you)? Do you find Him as the supreme delight of your soul? Do you long for Him so much that His denial would be the death of you? God is so desirable that any desire of Him less than a desperate one is unworthy of Him.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

"The cross where Jesus died became also the cross where His apostle died. The loss, the rejection, the shame, belong both to Christ and to all who in very truth are His. The cross that saves them also slays them, and anything short of this is a pseudo-faith and not true faith at all. But what are we to say when the great majority of our evangelical leaders walk not as crucified men but as those who accept the world at its own value—rejecting only its grosser elements? How can we face Him who was crucified and slain when we see His followers accepted and praised? Yet they preach the cross and protest loudly that they are true believers. Are there then two crosses? And did Paul mean one thing and they another? I fear that it is so, that there are two crosses, the old cross and the new.

.....

The old cross slew men; the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it. The old cross brought tears and blood; the new cross brings laughter."